


House Call

by Lemonykat



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:06:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27459931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lemonykat/pseuds/Lemonykat
Summary: Jasper realizes being a doctor isn't just textbook work and mixing medicines. Ft. Alviva, a character by friendofplague on instagram!
Kudos: 1





	House Call

One of the palace doctors waved Jasper over. "Jasper, today's your first supervised house call, correct?" 

Jasper nodded. "Yes! Right! You know, I almost forgot, but then-"

"Alright. You're scheduled to go with one of our most knowledgeable doctors, so you shouldn't have a hard time….but just in case. What are your objectives for today?"

Lifting a hand, Jasper counted off the goals. "Assess the patient, recommend a course of action, and uh…"

"Observe…."

"That one! Observe the supervising doctor. Easy."

The doctor sighed. "Wait here," she said before exiting the room - though, not without one more warning glance back at Jasper.

A nearby apprentice grabbed Jasper's shoulder. "Stars, you're going on your first house call?! Does that mean you passed the written test?"

At this, Jasper's face darkened and they idly tugged at a coil of hair. "Oh. Yeah, I passed…. I mean, I had help studying, so it wasn't too bad."

"What was your score?"

Jasper grimaced. "I passed, okay? Anyway, are those house calls hard? I forgot to go over the different treatment options last night. Well, I didn't forget, it's just that I-"

The apprentice rolled his eyes, used to Jasper's rambling. "No, it's easy. My supervising doctor barely let me do anything, I pretty much just confirmed they had the plague and suggested leeches. Then he made me stand back while he did the actual operation. It's a little jarring though, seeing infected people in person- are you listening?"

Jasper startled. "What? Leeches, yeah."

The apprentice clapped Jasper on the back once before leaving. "Good luck, Jasper."

A moment later, a familiar figure entered the room. "Alviva !" Jasper grinned, and the doctor raised his hand in acknowledgement. "You're my supervisor for today? Great!"

Alviva adjusted his hat. "If you think this means I'll let you slack off…"

"No, of course not," Jasper laughed before frantically double checking their supply bag. "Let's go...treat this patient!"  
___

Upon arriving at a small, rundown home near the flooded district, Alviva turned to Jasper. "Valdemar wouldn't care to teach this, but it's important that you act a certain way once we're inside."

"Oh. Uh, I'm not great with etiquette, Alviva. What do I-"

"No, no. Not like that. When we go in, make sure you stay professional. The sick don't need our pity, they need us to be objective. Be friendly, act confident...just act like you normally do." Alviva placed a hand on Jasper's shoulder briefly. "Maybe don't talk too much. And please...don't ask them why they're still alive."

Jasper's eyes widened. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Yes, well," Alviva opened the door, "the Count banned you from serving on his personal staff of doctors, regardless of what you meant."

Jasper huffed and followed him in.  
___

Jasper quietly slipped into the bedroom, where Alviva was quietly speaking to someone already. On a big bed next to a window, sat a young woman with short dirty-blond hair and freckled skin that looked pale and ashen. Her face was turned away from Jasper, who sat down on a stool by the wall.

"It's bad, isn't it? I already know, you don't need to downplay it." Her voice was weak and rough-sounding, as if she had shouted herself hoarse.

Alviva crossed his arms. "You said you apprenticed, right? Under…"

The woman coughed harshly. "That's irrelevant. Can you help me or not? If it helps, I'm well-trained in magic."

"Magic!?" Jasper clapped a hand over their mouth, but it was too late. "Sorry, sorry! Wait, can't you just heal yourself? Stars, I shouldn't ask. But wait, can't you? Or-no, you would have done that already. Oh, but-"

"It's fine," the woman said. She turned to face Jasper. "I would heal myself if I could….but I've never been good at that."

The last few words were a blur for Jasper as they saw the woman's face. Suddenly, the world seemed very foggy, and they could hear their blood pounding through their head. All they could focus on was the horrible sight of the infected magician.

Her sclera were a bright scarlet, in contrast to the dark hollows surrounding her eyes. Dark circles gave her a bruised look, and her cheeks were sunken. Her skin seemed papery, and her lips were slightly blue. 

A high pitched noise forced Jasper to squeeze their eyes shut. A wave of nausea hit them, and they curled into themselves. They barely registered Alviva helping them up and pushing them out the door. Only when they were outside did Jasper take a deep breath and look around.

"Are you alright?" Alviva looked back at the house. "What happened?" Jasper shook their head, unable to speak.

"Hm. Okay, well... I'm going to go back in. You stay out here, get some fresh air…" he drifted off uncertainly before heading back in.

Jasper took another deep breath. Then another. They looked around at the empty street. They looked up at the sign hanging above the door. "A magic shop," they mumbled. Then they stood, unsteadily.

It wasn't supposed to be this bad, was it? Sure, the plague sounded bad, but... Jasper had seen the Count, and he hadn't looked that bad. And the others….come to think of it, Jasper realized they hadn't actually seen any other infected people. Suddenly feeling claustrophobic, Jasper ripped off their mask, sick of the smell of herbs.

___

Back inside, Alviva re-entered the magician's room. She opened her eyes. "Are they okay? Do I really look that bad?"

Alviva shook his head. "Jasper's fine, they're just new to this. You, however…"

"I'm going to die, right?" The woman stared out the window. 

Alviva lowered his head. "Of course, there are experimental treatments at the palace, under the Quaestor, but the chances of survival are slim."

"Ha!" The magician laughed until a coughing fit overtook her. "Doctor, do you really recommend I go to Valdemar?"

Alviva balled his hands into fists briefly, then sighed. "Of course not. Go to the Lazaret, then. I'm sorry I can't do more for you."

She only shook her head. "My partner begged me not to apprentice as a doctor. He left me when I refused, because he said he didn't want to see me throw my life away."

Alviva folded his hands together. "And then?"

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "I said I hated him," she said roughly. "I told him to get out of my sight and run like the coward he was. I told him if he ever dared to come back, I would set him on fire." She snapped her fingers, and a flame appeared briefly before fizzling out. 

"Do you regret it?"

Alviva watched her brows furrow. "No," she said. "I think he's better off without me. I'm glad nobody will witness my death."

Alviva sat in silent contemplation. She had magic- and despite her weakness in her current state, she could still use it. She had no need for it anymore….if she could give it to him…

"Doctor?"

He startled. "Yes! Sorry. I...wanted to ask…"

The magician nodded, but she looked drowsy. Suddenly Alviva shook his head-he couldn't ask her. She was too weak, it would kill her…

And yet, said a small voice in his head, she's going to die anyway. And you need it. 

Alviva stood abruptly. "Nothing. Sorry. I…thank you for risking your life. Your efforts will be remembered."

"No, forget me. Please-" the magician begged "don't tell anyone I died."

She was delirious. Alviva shook his head once more and left.  
____

Jasper was just starting to relax when they noticed the small sigils engrained on the door frame. Tracing them, they noticed the figures start to glow, a gold color emitting softly from the wood. "Wow…" Jasper breathed. Lost in the strange sigils, they didn't notice Alvia exit and do a double take upon seeing Jasper's eyes, which had begun glowing gold as soon as they traced the first sigil.

Alviva cleared his throat and Jasper jumped back. "You're back! I mean, um, do you...you know...need me to come back in?" Jasper forced a strained smile.

"No," Alviva responded, "that won't be necessary. How are you feeling?"

Jasper looked down. "I'm sorry, I know I messed up."

"Plenty of doctors panic before their first time making a real decision."

"But not at just seeing a sick person…"

Alviva sighed and leaned against the wall of the shop. "No. When was the last time you saw someone infected with the plague?"

"Uh," Jasper shrugged, "when I saw the count. He didn't look that sick though. I've never seen anyone else in person...until now, I guess. Wait, has Valdemar ever had the plague? Is that why their skin is green? Or maybe they're just kind of sickly. I wonder if-"

"Jasper, have you really not seen anyone else sick?"

"Well, I live in a pretty secluded area…"

Alviva sighed. "Then it's no wonder, I suppose. You'll become desensitized soon enough. I won't say anything about this, but you'll have to do another supervised house call before we can send you out on your own."

Jasper frowned. "I know I'm not very good at being a doctor. But...if this is how bad it is...I promise I'll try harder. I just didn't realize that this was how bad the plague could be."

"It's not good, that's for sure."

"So…" Jasper squinted up at Alviva, "what are you going to do for her?"

He was silent a moment. "Nothing. She's dying."

"She can't do any magic to help herself?!"

"No." Alviva paused before asking "but what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You can do magic. Why didn't you offer to try any spells?"

"Me!?" Jasper laughed. "I don't know any magic! Is this because I was trying to look at those squiggles on the door? Stars, if I could do magic…. that would be amazing."

"But you…." Alviva tried to think of what to say. Nothing came to mind. "Your eyes were glowing. And your freckles."

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "I think I would have noticed that. And anyway, I just remembered that you're technically right. This witch a long time ago taught me a spell to boil water, and another one to locate any book in a library. Oh, she also taught me an anti-sunburn spell. So I can do magic….kind of. But that's it, I swear! I'm not a magic-y person, you know?"

Alviva said nothing, only shaking his head in disbelief. They know magic, he thought. They could be useful. In fact, if he could somehow extract the magical energy from them, he could….but that could create adverse effects. 

Then again, the sacrifice would be worth it in the end, if he could kill Valdemar. Wouldn't it?

"-and anyway, my sisters think it's a waste of time. They're always going on and on about how I could be using my time more productively."

Alviva realized Jasper was still talking, and nodded a few times. Clearly this idea would have to be shelved, at least for now.


End file.
